On participation at the 27th General Assembly of the
ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO)
The Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) held its 27th General
Assembly from September 10 to 15, 2006, in Cebu City, Philippines. The Canadian Parliament, which has the status of observer nation to AIPO sent a joint
delegation of the Canada-Japan Inter-parliamentary Group and the Canada-China
Legislative Association. The Canada-China Legislative Association Canada was
represented by the Honourable Joseph A. Day, Senator, and the Canada-Japan
Inter-parliamentary Group was represented by Mr. Bryon Wilfert, M.P., P.C. The
Secretary to the Delegation was Mr. Paul Cardegna, Association Secretary to
both the Canada-China Legislative Association Canada and the Canada-Japan
Inter-parliamentary Group.
Conference activities:
The Canadian delegation participated in
the First Plenary Session which began with statements by His Excellency José de
Venecia, Jr., President of AIPO and the Honourable Robert G. Romula, Chairman
of the ASEAN Standing Committee. Statements were made by the leaders of the
delegations from the eight AIPO member countries (namely: Kingdom of Cambodia,
Republic of Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic
Republic, Malaysia, Republic of Singapore, Kingdom
of Thailand, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and
Republic of the Philippines) and the two AIPO Special Observer
Countries (Brunei Darussalam and Union of Myanmar).
Later, during the First Plenary
Session, statements were made by the leaders of the delegations from the
observer nations (namely: Australia, Canada, People’s Republic of China,
European Parliament, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea
and the Russian Federation). The Honourable Joseph A. Day, Senator, made a
statement on behalf of the Canadian delegation; the text of which is attached
as Appendix A.
On the second day of the conference the
Canadian delegation observed the delegates of the AIPO nations as they convened
meetings of the following committees: Committee on Political Matters, Committee
on Economic Matters, Committee on Social Matters and the Committee on
Organizational Matters.
Dialogue meetings were then convened
with each observer delegation. The Canadian delegates met with their
counterparts from the AIPO nations to discuss a wide range of issues. The agenda
for the dialogue meeting included the following topics:
1.Regional security matters
2.Economic and trade cooperation
3.Investment opportunities
4.Environmental issues
5.Information and technology cooperation
6.Strategies to create breakthroughs in the World Trade Organization
(WTO) “Doha Round”
7.Exchange of parliamentary visits as means of strengthening
interparliamentary diplomacy
8.Cooperation in fighting pandemic/infectious diseases like Avian flu,
HIV/AIDS
The dialogue was chaired by the
Honourable Edgar M. Chatto, Member of the House of Representatives of the
Republic of the Philippines. His report summarizing the discussion’s main
points was presented to the Second Plenary Session and is attached as Appendix
B.
Finally, the Canadian delegation
participated in the Second Plenary Session which took place on the final day of
the conference. During this session, all of the reports of the committees and
observer dialogues were presented to and adopted by the plenary.
The Canadian delegation was also able
to arrange other private meetings in an effort to stimulate discussions
designed to strengthen bilateral and multilateral relations.
Meeting with Honourable Jose de
Venecia, Jr., President of AIPO and Speaker of the House of Representatives of
the Republic of the Philippines
The delegates attended a courtesy call
with the Honourable Jose de Venecia, Jr., President of AIPO and Speaker of the
House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines. Senator Day began
the meeting by describing the most recent political changes at the Canadian
federal level while Mr. Wilfert stated that Canadian-Philippine relations were
especially important due to the over 300,000 Canadians of Philippine descent.
Speaker de Venecia identified
reforestation as a critical problem currently facing the Philippines in which Canadian expertise could be effective. The government of the Philippines intends to begin a vigorous tree-planting campaign that would rejuvenate the
forestry industry in that country. He suggested that a Philippine-Canadian
joint venture could simultaneously benefit from Canadian forestry expertise,
the long growing season and abundant available land in the Philippines. He also stated how Canada’s vast knowledge of railway transportation would help
rejuvenate the transportation infrastructure of the Southeast Asian nation in
order to more efficiently move locally produced products for export. The
Canadian delegates agreed that this provided an excellent opportunity for both
countries to strengthen trade and economic links.
On the same subject, the Speaker
suggested the creation of a Philippine-Canadian investment fund that could
receive contributions from investors in both countries and then be used as a
source of investment income for projects in the Philippines. The continuing
operation of Canadian banks in the Philippines was cited as essential criteria
for the success of this fund.
Finally, the subject of debt reduction
for ASEAN nations was discussed, including the idea of allowing ASEAN countries
to repay their debt to Canada by providing money for investment opportunities
in ASEAN nations. It was suggested that this would provide an opportunity for Canada to assist while providing welcome grants for improvements in developing nations.
Meeting with Vu Mao, Director of the
Committee for External Relations of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Mr. Bryon Wilfert, M.P., P.C. met with
Mr. Vu Mao, Member of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam and Director of the Committee for External Relations and Ms. Nguyen Thi
Bach Mai, Member of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Mr. Wilfert began the meeting by
stating that Canada and Vietnam have enjoyed cordial relations over the past 30
years and mentioned that there are currently over 250,000 Canadians of
Vietnamese descent. Vu Mao raised the topic of adoption due to the recent
agreement reached between the Canadian and Vietnamese governments on the
subject. The increased number of adoptions of Vietnamese children by Canadian
couples has increased the importance of the issue of dual citizenship for the
Canadian government. Mr. Wilfert reminded Mr. Mao that the issue had recently
been the subject of considerable discussion in Canada after the evacuation of
dual citizen Lebenese-Canadians from Lebanon during the summer of 2006. Both
agreed that the issue was problematic and Mr. Wilfert noted that Canadian
government policy on the issue was under review.
Ms. Mai stated that Vietnam intends to adopt a bill on gender equity in the near future and asked Mr. Wilfert what Canada’s experience with gender equity issues has been. Mr. Wilfert responded that the
drive for gender equality has meant more women are taking a larger role in the
workplace in Canada and creating a need for a wider discussion about work/life
balance and the ability of women to sustain careers while trying to raise
families.
Finally, Mr. Wilfert reiterated that
meetings and discussions such as these were an excellent opportunity to
exchange best practices and forge stronger relationships between Canada and Vietnam.
Meeting with H.E. Ambassador Wang
Yingfan, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations and leader of
the Chinese delegation to the 27th AIPO Conference
The Honourable Joseph A. Day, Senator
met with H.E. Ambassador Wang Yingfan, Permanent Representative of China to the
United Nations and leader of the Chinese delegation to the 27th AIPO
Conference. Discussions centered around Canada-China relations and the growing
bilateral trade between the two nations as well as other matters of mutual
interest such as anti-terrorism, immigration, North Korea and China’s role in
Asia. Also, the subject of the upcoming Canada-China Legislative Association 9th
Bilateral visit to China, which is scheduled for October 2006, was raised.
Conclusion:
The delegation felt that its
participation at the conference was beneficial to better understand the issues
facing ASEAN nations. The time spent with their ASEAN colleagues was an
excellent opportunity for Canadian parliamentarians to forge and strengthen
better bilateral and multilateral relations with the nations of Southeast Asia.
Respectfully
submitted,
Hon. Joseph Day, Senator
Co-Chair
Canada-China Legislative Association
Hon.
Bryon Wilfert, P.C., M.P.
Canada-Japan
Inter-Parliamentary Group
APPENDIX A: Speech given by Senator Day
APPENDIX B: Report on the dialogue with Canadian
Delegation